$10,099 – that’s how much someone is asking for their copy of Christine Manfield’s Tasting India cookbook on Amazon. Sure, India Today called it the book to give native newlywed couples once they head overseas, so it’s a prized publication – but luckily, the new updated version of the award-winning book is much more budget-friendly […]

“It was probably the singular worst experience of my life, because Noodle Bar will kick your ass.” Sure, Su Wong Ruiz‘s first go at working for David Chang’s Momofuku restaurant empire wasn’t the greatest success. (“My ass was completely flattened by that experience,” she says.) But over time, she became part of the acclaimed, three-hat-earning […]

They’ve worked in Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Croatia, Greece, Bali and the Carribean. At one point, Ross had a job in Singapore while Sunny was in Chicago – and somehow, they ended up commuting and making it work. The couple were drawn back to Australia, though, because Ross had his eye on a restaurant location in […]

Kylie Javier Ashton has dealt with forged bookings, martini glass accidents, disguising Alex Atala with garbage bags, and countless people throwing up when she’s on the job (“you could see the frequency of the voms go up when the scampi dish was on” is one of the most memorable lines from this interview). Having survived […]

Turning unwanted coconuts into 2000 curries, 10 tonnes of donated squash into soup, leftover egg yolks from 16,000 Black Star Pastry watermelon-strawberry cakes into banana curd and working out what to do with 800 kilograms of airplane food picked up from the domestic airport gate – these are just some of the things that Travis […]

Joe Beddia makes “America’s best pizza”, according to Bon Appétit magazine. The chef/owner of Philadelphia’s Pizzeria Beddia has also been referred to as Pizza Jesus and the Jiro of Pizza. He shrugs off what he does as “just pizza”, but people would line up many hours (sometimes even arriving before Joe got to work!) just to […]

It’s not surprising that Sharon Salloum would pursue a career in food – her dad has a thing for DIY cooking devices and even pioneered a shopping-trolley/fridge shelf/lawnmower barbecue. Her mother and grandmother taught her the power of food around the family table, and their recipes inspired her Almond Bar cookbook – which landed her […]

The first restaurant Eve Yeung ever worked at was Noma – yes, the Copenhagen establishment named the World’s Best Restaurant four times. So how did she end up in René Redzepi‘s renowned kitchen at the age of 18? The young pastry chef actually considered becoming a competitive hockey player (a path she pursued while working […]

They’re two of the dining capitals of the world and they’re explored (and beautifully photographed) by Alexandra Carroll in her books, New York: An Inspired Wander Through Manhattan and the Brooklyn Boroughs and Paris: An Inspired Wander Through the City of Lights. So it’s no surprise that we talk about memorable bagels and croissants in […]

At age 11, Jock Zonfrillo started working in restaurants – initially, as a dishwasher. “I very quickly surmised that I was on the wrong side of the flying frying pan.” Only a few weeks in, he became a chef, an experience that would take him from Scotland to the rest of the world: from cooking […]

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About

Hi, I'm Lee Tran Lam. When not blogging with my mouth full, I'm usually writing, presenting Local Fidelity on FBi radio, making zines, producing podcasts or continually breaking promises about how I really am gonna get through my book pile one day.

All the good pictures on this blog are by photography ace (and patient boyfriend), Will Reichelt, (all the dodgy ones can be credited to me)!

The lovely banner is by friend and ultra-talented illustrator Grace Lee.

This site redesign was made possible by the next-level generosity and expertise of Daniel Boud, whose code-tinkering ways are only outranked by his seriously inspired way with a camera.